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prologue.
It was amazing how your whole life could be split apart by a few simple words. Everything that I had known to be true was anything but. They were asking me to believe in the impossible. Not only that… they were telling me that I was a part of it. I didn’t want to believe. Stupidly I thought that if maybe I blinked my eyes rapidly this would all go away. But this wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t even a nightmare. It was harsh reality. It was real. Deep down in my soul I knew what they spoke of was the truth. I was a werewolf. No, that wasn’t the correct term. Shifter. I was a shifter.
But there was something else that I knew that I didn’t want to admit to myself.
Caeden.
Caeden Williams was my mate, my destiny, my future. The love I felt for him frightened me more than the harsh reality that I was shifter. I wanted to deny my affection, to fight it, but fighting it was impossible. Thoughts of him consumed my every waking hour and even the ones when I was sleeping.
But to accept being a shifter meant I had to accept Caeden as my mate. Accepting Caeden as my mate meant accepting my destiny as a shifter.
Was I ready for that commitment?
My heart and soul screamed yes while my mind said no.
What does one do? Follow their heart or run from it?
one.
“Daddy, I’ll be fine really. It’s not like you’re sending me to live with Satan. This is Gram. Everything will be fine. You worry too much,” I said as my dad loaded my last suitcase into the back of my brand new white Honda Pilot. It was a gift from my parents for always putting up with moving. My dad was in the military and all we had ever done was move. We were back in the states now, Indiana, but my dad was being transferred to Germany. We had lived so many places they had started to blur together. I had been born in France, then we’d moved to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and Japan just to name a few. I had friends, which were more like acquaintances, all over the world. We didn’t stay in one place long enough for me to make a lasting friend. But this time was different. My parents knew I was sick of moving all the time and decided since it was my senior year that I could move in with Gram. My Gram lives in a small town in Virginia. I had been there a few times and it was just a quaint little place surrounded by larger cities. In other words it wasn’t very exciting but it would be a steady solid home and that was just what I needed.
“Sophie, you’re my only child. It’s my job to worry about you,” he said closing the trunk.
My mom chose that moment to come out of the house with a bag in her hand and a tissue held to her face.
“Sweetie, I’m going to miss you so much,” she said grabbing me into a hug.
“Mommy,” I said hugging her back, “I love you.”
She pulled away but held me at arm’s length. “Promise you’ll call every day.”
“I promise mom,” I said. She nodded as if my answer was good enough for her.
“Don’t worry about her honey. My mom will take good care of her,” my dad said. He wiped his brow with his hand. My dad had thick dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
“I know,” my mom said, “But she’s my little girl.”
“She’s my little girl too,” my dad said rubbing her back.
“Um… Little girl standing right here,” I said. It always drove me crazy when my parents acted like I wasn’t standing right in front of them.
My dad laughed his good belly laugh.
“Alright, Christine, we’ve got to let her get on the road. She has quite a drive ahead of her.”
“I’m not ready,” my mom said dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She had her honey brown hair pulled back into a sloppy pony tail and her makeup was starting to run as her dark brown eyes pooled with tears. I had my dad’s dark hair that was slightly wavy like my mom’s but sometimes wanted to hang like limp noodles and I had my mom’s brown eyes. My features were a mix of both of theirs. I had my dad’s long straight aristocratic nose and my mom’s full lips but unfortunately my top lip was slightly larger than the bottom. Luckily, I hadn’t inherited my dad’s widow’s peak.
They each gave me a hug and then my dad handed me my car keys. He pulled me in for yet another hug.
“Take this for gas and anything else you need while you’re with Gram. This is for emergencies only though. No shopping sprees,” he joked. My dad knew I wasn’t into clothes and therefore had nothing to worry about. I had learned a long time ago that the less I owned the less I had to pack.
I got in my car and backed out of the driveway. Looking in my rearview mirror I could see my mom and dad standing on the driveway waving. He had his arm around her but then I saw the FOR SALE sign and it shattered the image. If they weren’t moving I wouldn’t have to do this.
I sighed and turned up the radio. A loud pop song was on but for once I didn’t mind; anything to keep me awake. I had a long drive ahead of me; almost ten hours and I wasn’t looking forward to it.
Familiar sights flashed by me. Our neighborhood, my school, the 7Eleven where my friends and I always hung out. The sights didn’t bother me as much as it might someone else. I was used to leaving. Leaving I could handle but I wasn’t so sure if I would be able to handle staying.
I got onto the highway and the car hummed pleasantly. The traffic was heavy and I became increasingly irritated. After driving for four hours with no stops I finally pulled over and filled the car with gas and used the bathroom. There was a Wendy’s next door so I walked over and got something to eat. It was twelve o’ clock and people were out milling about. I couldn’t help but envy them and their simple uncomplicated lives.
